In our Sunday evening Bible study of Romans, we have found that the primary focus of Paul’s letter is to explain salvation. To be brief, Paul asserts that observing the law has never been capable of saving anyone because everyone has sinned but that salvation for sinners is accomplished only by God’s grace and is … [Read more…]
Having been preaching for the last couple of months about God’s plan for the healthy, active body of Christ (that is, through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians), I am keen on pointing out those important moments when we are clearly on the right track. This past month has seen several such moments that I can’t … [Read more…]
This year I’ve been trying to focus my articles and sermons on helping people to trust and follow Jesus. In fact, when we’re finished going through Ephesians, we’re going to focus on Jesus’ call, “Follow me!” But what does it mean to follow Jesus? If you have a Twitter account, you likely follow other people … [Read more…]
Do you know about Elias Boudinot? Having lived in Cincinnati for more than 15 years, I know Boudinot Avenue, where you can find the original LaRosa’s pizzeria. The street is named for Boudinot who owned land on the west side of the city, though I don’t think he ever lived there. Boudinot was an attorney … [Read more…]
As I began our summer-long series through Ephesians, I pointed out that Paul was writing to the faithful who lived in Ephesus; specifically, he was writing to “the faithful in Christ Jesus” (1:1). That might seem obvious, but in the context of becoming the “healthy, active Body of Christ,” which is the focus of this … [Read more…]
A preacher I know wrote a book that was released April 17 (it’s called Finding Favor: God’s Blessings Beyond Health, Wealth, and Happiness, and it’s written by Brian Jones; I highly recommend it, and you will likely hear more about it in the next few months). In the book, he mentions a moment when his … [Read more…]
With Easter falling on April 1, it’s easy for some to make connections between faith and foolishness. We’ve seen it in the news: pundits mocking Christians, as if we are crazy for our beliefs. However, God makes a connection between a lack of faith and foolishness. King David wrote in Psalms 14:1-3: The fool says … [Read more…]
It seems fairly safe to say that trust is at an all-time low these days. I’d suggest to read the news, but with “fake news” among the headlines, it’s clear that the fourth estate, the press, is not trusted the way it once was. In fact, it seems that none of the traditional “estates” of … [Read more…]
Going into February, I’m reminded of the celebrations we had in grade school. When I was a kid, we didn’t celebrate “Presidents Day”; we celebrated George Washington’s birthday and Abraham Lincoln’s birthday. We read stories about how “Honest Abe” read and studied by candlelight and about how young George could not tell a lie. We … [Read more…]
I had called 2017 the “year of the Bible,” focusing sermon and lesson series on the Bible, its overall message, and how each individual part related to the others and to the Gospel message. It was my hope that we would grow in our faith and knowledge of Jesus so that we might all become … [Read more…]